Catch up on the latest GSA board meeting recaps anytime—at home, on the road, or on your tractor.
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Turlock Irrigation District priced a $109 million bond refunding expected to save $740,000–$750,000 annually. Draft 2027 operations and maintenance spending rises 2.1%. A previously approved 5% rate increase is scheduled for 2027; the current outlook projects no further base-rate increases through 2031, though power supply adjustments could raise bills. Water Year 2026 runoff was 75.5% of average, and staff cautioned that El Niño does not guarantee a wet year.
Directors praised staff as the irrigation season ended. Through September, operating revenues exceeded the year-to-date budget by $3.5 million, aided by water sales and a solar tax credit. District leaders disputed a resident’s prediction of a years-long Woodward Reservoir closure; access remains restricted during the transition. The board heard an incentive-pay grievance seeking retroactive back pay without deciding it and deferred a lockout/tagout policy revision until November 10.
The Board set a December 4 hearing for the proposed FY2027 budget after reviewing a draft. Staff projected roughly $1.5 million in implementation costs against about $933,000 in assessment revenue but described the overall draft as near balance. At Site 20 near Tulare, an analysis estimated a 95% chance of exceeding the subsidence minimum threshold by 2040 under current groundwater-level thresholds. None of the 13 modeled sites is within Eastern Kaweah.
The Friant Water Authority Finance & Human Resources Committee was called to order on October 26, 2026, but lacked a quorum and conducted no substantive agenda business. Proposed dump truck and pre-emergent chemical purchases, counsel agreements, October bills, and financial reports were not considered. Julie Gantenbein said the committee would adjourn to its next regular meeting, announced for December 8 at 1:30 p.m.
At the October 26 joint meeting, the committees reviewed Water Year 2027 Tier 1 and Tier 2 rates of $250 per acre-foot; Tier 3 remains $500. Allocations remain 0.31 and 0.23 acre-feet per acre. The Board directed staff to pursue water credits to offset this year’s tiered use ahead of a planned Water Year 2028 supplemental-water transition. Critical-head findings at 13 western-area sites prompted further subsidence study.
